North Korea faces lowest crop harvest in five years, widespread food shortages - U.N.

FILE PHOTO: North Korean people work on a rice field at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 11, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's crop production this year is expected to drop to its lowest level in five years, bringing serious shortages for 40% of the population, as a dry spell and poor irrigation hit an economy already reeling from sanctions over its weapons programmes, the United Nations said on Thursday.

In its latest quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said the poor harvest of the country's main crops, rice and maize, means 10.1 million people are in urgent need of assistance.